Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian prime minister, passed away on Monday in a Milan hospital. He had a long series of spouses and companions during his lifetime. The drama of the infamous “bunga bunga” parties hosted at his Arcore home outside of Milan was the most well-known of the sex scandals that surrounded him. One major scandal involved a girl named Ruby Rubacuori, also known as Ruby the Heart Stealer.

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Who is Ruby Rubacuori?

Berlusconi was Prime Minister when he was legally convicted of paying Ruby Rubacuori for sexual services while she was under the age of 18 between February and May 2010.

In 2010, details about the infamous “bunga bunga” parties held at his Arcore house close to Milan came to light. At the time, Berlusconi personally called a police station to request the release of Karima El Mahroug, a 17-year-old Moroccan woman who had been detained in Milan on suspicion of stealing jewelry.

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The attempt to free her from custody was successful. However, Berlusconi misled the police into believing that she was the niece or grandchild of Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt, in order to obtain her freedom, putting international relations in danger. He later told the court that he did believe that at the time.

Later it was discovered that the young woman, who went by the name of Ruby Rubacuori, was a belly dancer and possible prostitute. She stated that Berlusconi gave her $10,000 during his parties.

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She testified before Milan’s prosecutors that Berlusconi and other young ladies participated in the events, which resembled orgies, by stripping off and performing the “bunga bunga” ritual. It appears that many of the women who attended the events wanted to break into the show industry by appearing on one of the TV networks run by Berlusconi.

Initially convicted guilty of paying Mahroug while she was under the age of 18, Berlusconi’s conviction was reversed on appeal. Mahroug, meanwhile, asserted that she had never been a prostitute and denied having a sexual relationship with Berlusconi, claiming that the latter was merely a lonely man who paid to be with young women.